Chinese Man Gets 20-Foot Tapeworm from Beef Tartare

Okay, it wasn’t EXACTLY the steak delicacy. But a 38-year old man in China definitely enjoyed eating raw beef, at least until he became infected a 20-foot tapeworm —that came from including this food in his diet.

In case you wondered if this parasite is real, take a gander at the 240-inchworm that enjoyed a two-year residence in the man’s colon.

That’s right, two years with a giant insect living in his gut. The beef bug attached itself to the guy’s small intestine, and settled in for a 24-month vacation with an unlimited buffet of whatever he was eating that day.

(No, this doesn’t mean the guy was hungry again for Chinese food every half hour, Mildly Racist Joke Guy. Cut it out…)

Although tapeworm infection rate is pretty high in China, this was the first case of tapeworm seen in this region in more than 30 years.

When the man came to the doctor’s office, he brought a fragment of the parasite with him that he found in his stool. He also told his doctor about his affinity for raw beef.

Anyone who thinks medicine is a glamorous profession needs to re-read that last sentence. A man brought bug-infested crap samples to the office. He then explained how raw cow flesh is preferable to anything exposed to flame.

Doctors did get a good x-ray, though…

Over the past two years, the man’s medical history also showed that he had been seen by several different doctors and given treatment for stomach aches, pain in his abdomen and anemia, which is a low level of healthy red blood cells.

Next time your mid-rare burger gives you a cramp, you might not want to assume it’s just gas.